Shortage of highly-skilled STEM workers, lack of critical technical skills, and persistence of underrepresentation are key problems for our nation's future. The Arkansas Summer Research Institute (ASRI) incorporates novel approaches to broaden participation in STEM, research, and data analytics, especially among URM students (over 50% of ASRI…

The anxieties of students, who may be confident achievers in other academic subjects, frequently stem from embarrassment about their struggles to draw realistic-looking images (refer to Pavlou, 2006). These apprehensions are exacerbated when students, perhaps due to having had limited exposure to varieties of artistic styles, have been led to…

An investigation was carried out into laboratory practical skills development and students' specific challenges in transition from laboratory chemistry at Chinese High School (HS) to a fully English style university laboratory course. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study of its type investigating practical laboratory skills for a…

Allelopathy plays crucial roles in invasive plant viability and agricultural production systems. However, there is no well-established hands-on learning activity to teach the concept of allelopathy. Nor is there an activity which allows students to gain knowledge about glucosinolates and their corresponding enzyme, myrosinase, which are present in…

Peer mentorship at colleges and universities is often thought of in the context of formal programs. This paper examines mentorship from an informal lens as the everyday advice students give their peers. This study utilized focus groups to see how students responded to questions their peers asked about their experiences. Four themes emerged that…

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the learning cycle-5 Es model "Bybee" in the development of problem-solving skills and academic achievement in Geography subject in the ninth graders in Jordan. The study consists of 60 students from the University Education Directorate in Amman in the second semester for the…

A competitive educational guessing game "Orbital Battleship" which reinforces Madelung's and Hund's rules, values of quantum numbers, and understanding of periodicity was designed. The game develops strategic thinking, is not time-consuming, requires minimal preparation and supervision, and is an efficient and fun alternative to more…

Citizens need to be college prepared in higher numbers and with greater urgency than in the past. This growing need for a college-prepared workforce places increased demand on schools to create college-ready students. The Career and College Readiness Standards for much of public education foster the skills and dispositions for academic excellence,…

This paper presents an innovative project-based learning activity meant to support language beginner students to develop, via their core curriculum, five enterprise capabilities ("authentic problem-solving;" "innovation and creativity;" "risk-taking;" "taking action;" and "true collaboration"),…

Understanding how experienced teachers share and articulate effective mentoring practices can guide efforts to prepare quality mentors. This qualitative study focused on mentoring practices within a teacher-designed student-teaching program conceptualized while the mentor teachers within the program were students in a graduate-level mentoring…

"Summer bridge programs" are designed to ease the transition to college and support postsecondary success by providing students with the academic skills and social resources needed to succeed in a college environment. These programs occur in the summer "bridge" period between high school and college. Although the content of…

Fundamental to a student's understanding of organic chemistry is the ability to interpret and use its language, including molecules' names and other key terms. A learning gap exists in that students often struggle with organic nomenclature. Although many resources describe the rules for naming molecules, there is a paucity of resources…

This study tested the impact of the skills-building component of a two-semester risk and resilience (R&R) course on the stress, coping skills, and cognitive style of 36 undergraduates compared to 62 students enrolled in a child and adolescent psychopathology course. In the fall, students learned about risk taking and decision-making as well as…

In this activity, science education and modern technology are bridged to teach students at the high school and undergraduate levels about protein folding and to strengthen their model building skills. Students are guided from a textbook picture of a protein as a rigid crystal structure to a more realistic view: proteins are highly dynamic…

What early experiences attract students to pursue an education and career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)? Does hands-on research influence them to persevere and complete a major course of academic study in STEM? We evaluated survey responses from 149 high school and undergraduate students who gained hands-on research…